


winter's hold

by NoirSongbird



Series: Summer, Winter [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fae, Fae Keith (Voltron), Fae Kidnapping, Fae Lotor (Voltron), Fae Magic, Fae Morality, M/M, Mildly Dubious Consent, Mixed AFAB and AMAB Language, Sexual Shapeshifting, Vaginal Sex, Very Background Zarkon/Kolivan
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-31
Updated: 2020-03-31
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:27:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23416726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoirSongbird/pseuds/NoirSongbird
Summary: When Lance met a beautiful stranger at a bar and let him take him home, he was expecting a fun hookup and maybe to get Lotor's number so they could do it again. What he wasnotexpecting was to wake up in Faerie, and to discover that his hookup is the Crown Prince of the Winter Court. Worse, even though Lance really just wants to go home, Lotor can't bring him over until the winter solstice, which means Lance is going to be trapped in Faerie formonths.Over time, though, Lance gets to know Lotor, and finds himself drawn to his accidental kidnapper. When it comes time to go home, Lance finds himself reluctant to leave...and fae politicking might just ensure he doesn't have a choice.
Relationships: Keith/Shiro (Voltron), Lance/Lotor (Voltron)
Series: Summer, Winter [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/813120
Comments: 8
Kudos: 28





	winter's hold

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bittersweetangstlord](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bittersweetangstlord/gifts).



> So! I want to thank bittersweetangstlord for prompting this fic; I pitched an idea for this sequel years ago and never wrote it, but I got a nudge and here we are! Thanks so much! <3
> 
> Also, I should note that while Lance identifies Lotor as a trans man in this chapter, and Lotor has similar anatomy, that's not quite accurate, since Lotor is a faerie and can basically take whatever form he wishes, including giving himself whichever bits feel right, which is why I didn't tag for that.

Of all the things that could have happened to Lance in a little queer bar off his college campus, this seemed the most radically unlikely. It was the kind of thing that happened in stories. In stupid romcoms. Anywhere but in Lance’s actual, real life. 

Except that the ethereally beautiful stranger with the long white hair that Lance had been watching on and off all night, ever since he got to Scandals, was definitely looking at _him,_ and cutting through the crowd towards _him,_ and focused on _him_ to the exclusion of anyone else in the bar now that their eyes had finally met. Lance was frozen, watching him weave through the crowd until he got over to where Lance was standing and smiled like he’d just found everything he was looking for.

“Hello,” he said, in a British-accented voice that had Lance’s insides turning to warm, fuzzy, pleasant goo.

“Hi,” Lance said articulately, “uh. I’m Lance.”

“Lance. What a lovely name.” The stranger regarded him with eyes Lance couldn’t look away from—they were an intense indigo, like nothing he’d ever seen before, so bright they were almost inhuman. Something in Lance’s brain was rattling around, demanding that he get out of there, but he shoved it aside. “You may call me Lotor.” 

“Lotor,” Lance repeated, feeling a little bit hypnotized. Lotor hummed.

“Mm, yes. I like how it sounds when you say it,” he observed. Idly, he crowded into Lance’s space, and maybe Lance should have felt threatened or wary, but he didn’t. It was like the awareness of those feelings was there, but they were totally washed away.

“Come here often?” Lance asked. He knew the answer. It was a stupid question.

“No, actually. It’s my first time,” Lotor replies. “I’m not exactly from around here.” The way he said it, it was like he was sharing a private joke. 

“Oh, well,” Lance said, “I should’ve guessed, this place is kind of a dive and you’re way too gorgeous for it.” Lotor laughed, and Lance wanted to hear the sound of his laughter forever.

“Am I? What a sweet thing to say.”

“It’s true,” Lance said.

“If I’m too gorgeous to be here,” Lotor said, setting aside his drink and reaching over to cup Lance’s chin, “what does that make you?”

“The luckiest guy in this room?” Lance suggested. Lotor’s eyebrows went up, and he leaked in, so his lips were only inches from Lance’s.

“I suppose that’s true,” he said. Lance wasn’t sure what idiocy or genius seized him, but he leaned in with reckless abandon, crashing his lips against Lotor’s. Lotor leaned into the kiss, backing Lance up until he was flush against the wall, pinned between it and Lotor’s surprisingly muscled body. For all he looked lithe and delicate, he was anything _but._

Kissing Lotor felt like drowning in arctic water, and Lance didn’t want to come up for air. 

“Come home with me?” Lotor murmured against his lips, hands tracing over his hips and up his sides. “I can make you _so_ happy.”

“Yes, please,” Lance gasped. 

“Good,” Lotor murmured, and he began to lead Lance out the door.

If anyone asked Lance, there was no way he could have explained how he got from the bar to Lotor’s bedroom. It was like they stepped through one door and were suddenly there, but that was patently absurd, obviously. It was probably the alcohol and Lotor’s utterly magnetic presence that compressed the journey in his mind. 

Besides, Lance wasn’t wondering about the “how”s anymore when Lotor pushed him back onto the insanely plush bed and climbed on top of him, straddling his hips. All that mattered was Lotor’s kisses, and his hands trailing up under Lance’s shirt, pushing it over his head. Lance’s whole world was reduced to lips and hands and intense indigo eyes locked with his, as Lotor peeled Lance’s clothes off. Lotor’s seemed to disappear under Lance’s fingers, coming off easily with the slightest touch, baring an expanse of dark skin that made Lance’s heart skip. Lotor was built like a fitness model, and Lance could feel muscle that must have taken uncountable hours of work at the gym to build. 

Lance felt a hand wrap around his cock and gasped, hips fucking up into Lotor’s hand. 

“Fuck,” he whined, and Lotor grinned, stroking his cock with practiced ease. Lance clearly wasn’t Lotor’s first hookup ever, though Lance probably could have and should have guessed that from how easily confident he had been, picking Lance up at the bar. 

“So reactive,” Lotor murmured, bending to kiss Lance’s neck, “and such a lovely voice. Keep moaning like that for me, won’t you?” Almost idly, he gathered Lance’s wrists in his free hand, pinning them to the pillows above Lance’s head with an ease that demonstrated far more strength than he ought to have.

Lance was helpless to do anything but obey. Even without the request, though, he would have been reduced to gasping, desperate moans by what Lotor was doing to him; his hand continued to work Lance’s cock with casual expertise, while his lips trailed kisses and bites over Lance’s neck, and as he increased the pace of his strokes, he stopped to lave attention on one particular spot, nibbling and licking and sucking until Lance was _sure_ he’d have an absolutely spectacular hickey, come morning. 

That was kind of a good thing, Lance thought, because he wasn’t sure he’d believe this happened tomorrow without some kind of physical proof. The whole experience seemed so ethereal and strange, so far beyond anything Lance could ever have imagined, and so _not_ what a club hookup was supposed to be like, he was pretty sure. Not that he had a ton of experience, but he’d had one or two before, and none of them were this...electric. This _magical._

Lance could feel his orgasm building, and he started to warn Lotor that he was close, but Lotor stopped his hand before Lance said anything. 

“Feels as if you’re almost ready to burst,” Lotor purred, and he moved his hand off Lance’s cock. “Can’t have that. Not this soon.” Lance whined, and Lotor sighed, faintly. He moved to kiss Lance’s lips slowly, and shifted so that his hips were hovering right over Lance’s. “I’d like to ride you, and I’d like you to come inside me.”

“Oh, fuck, yes,” Lance said. Lotor grinned, and kissed him one last time, then let go of his hands and sat back, slowly sinking down onto Lance’s cock. Distantly, it occurred that Lotor must be a trans guy—he was hot and wet and ready with no lube. As he sank down, his eyes closed, and he moaned, and when he was fully seated on Lance’s cock, they opened halfway over a sultry grin. 

In the dim light in Lotor’s bedroom, all Lance could really make out were shapes—the outline of Lotor’s gorgeous body, the fall of his hair—but Lotor’s eyes were as bright and indigo as if Lance were seeing them in daylight. He was so entranced by them that when Lotor actually started moving, he was a little surprised, but pleasantly so. The sensuous roll of Lotor’s hips had Lance moaning and bucking up to meet him. Lotor’s hands rested on Lance’s stomach, and he started out slow, like he was luxuriating in the experience, but it didn’t take long for him to pick up the pace. Lance moved his hands to Lotor’s hips, and leveraged into fucking up to meet Lotor as he came down. Absolutely beautiful moans tumbled from Lotor’s lips, and the more Lance fucked into him, the faster he moved.

“So good,” Lotor gasped, “you’re so good for me, Lance darling, keep doing that.” 

Lance wanted to hear Lotor call him darling _forever._

Maybe if he was lucky, and Lotor didn’t politely shuffle him out when they were done, he’d be able to get Lotor’s number so they could do this again.

In the moment, though, Lance needed to fuck Lotor good enough to make sure he _wanted_ to come back. He used his grip on Lotor’s hips to shift Lotor’s angle on him slightly, and fucked up hard, and Lotor let out a loud cry of pleasure.

“Yes, fuck, just like that,” Lotor gasped, and Lance kept going, driving into him over and over, making him moan and cry out. Lotor’s back arched beautifully, and he threw his head back, fucking down onto Lance faster and moving a hand between his legs to stroke himself. “ _Lance!”_ He cried, and Lance felt him squeeze around Lance’s cock, and that was enough to encourage Lance to spill inside him. He’d been barely holding back anyway, and feeling Lotor come felt like permission.

“You’re so beautiful,” Lance breathed as he came down, staring up at Lotor, still seated on his cock. Lotor’s hair looked like a mess, stuck to his face and his shoulders with sweat, and he was probably flushed, and his breathing looked heavy—and all of that only made him more beautiful. Lotor cracked a coy smile, and bent down.

“Oh, I’m well aware,” he said, playfully, and then he pressed his lips to Lance’s forehead. “ _Sleep,”_ he whispered.

Lance wanted to protest, but before he could, he felt exhaustion overwhelm him, and he slipped into a deep, restful sleep.

* * *

When Lance stirred awake the next morning, it took him a long moment to realize where he was. The bed he was lying in was far more comfortable than the one back at his dorm, and far bigger, and when he opened his eyes, the room was strange and unfamiliar. It was all in dark colors with accents of white, and it was _cold._ Cold enough that he was unwilling to disentangle himself from the blankets.

Right, this had to be Lotor’s apartment. The ridiculously gorgeous dude that had taken him home last night, with the absurdly alluring eyes and the far-too-pretty smile. 

He also had a very cranky roommate, based on what Lance could hear through the door.

“Lotor, you can’t just _bring people here,”_ an unfamiliar voice argued, and Lance began to disentangle himself from the covers. He was surprised to find his clothes neatly folded on a nearby bureau, but at least that made getting dressed convenient. 

“Is that not exactly what you did with your Shiro?” Lotor’s voice replied, and in the light of day, Lance noticed that there was something...off about it. He’d identified the accent as British the night before, but hearing it now, that didn’t seem quite right. It was _close,_ sure, closer than anything else Lance could think of, but still _wrong._

There was a loud sputtering from the other side of the door, a groaning noise that sounded like it was coming from a third person, and then a response from the unfamiliar voice.

“That’s not—it isn’t— _different things, Lotor,”_ the first stranger snapped. Lance frowned, and walked over to the door, pulling his jacket close around him. 

“Hey, look,” Lance said, as he pushed the door open, “I’m sorry if I’m causing trouble, I just need…a ride…home…uh.”

There were definitely three people there. One of them was probably Lotor, but he definitely didn’t look like the dark-skinned hottie with bleached hair from last night. Primarily because he was purple. Also, in proper lighting, it was obvious that his hair wasn’t _bleached,_ it was _white._ Oh yeah, and he _definitely_ had _elf ears._

The person across from him, maybe the one he was arguing with, was a little shorter than Lotor, with messy white hair. Unlike Lotor, he wasn’t some fantastical color, just ordinary human, a little tanned. His eyes, though, were a strange gold, too bright to be human, and he, too, had pointed ears.

Lance needed to believe that the third person with them was human, or he was going to lose his mind. Fortunately, there were no immediate tells, and the tall, muscular stranger with the long black ponytail had very human-looking gray eyes, no elf ears, and a white streak that might have been magic but might have been bleaching, Lance couldn’t quite tell. He looked vaguely familiar, in a way Lance couldn’t quite place.

“Damn it,” the unfamiliar elf person huffed, and he turned to face Lance. “What did Lotor tell you, last night?”

“He…invited me to come home with him?” Lance squeaked, tremulously. The stranger groaned.

“You see? And he agreed, so I brought him home! All perfectly fair.” Lotor said, in the time of someone who genuinely believed that was perfectly justifiable.

“And did you tell him where home _was?_ ” The stranger asked, sharply.

“Well,” Lotor began, in the tone of someone who felt as if there wasn’t a correct answer to that question, and the stranger groaned.

“No, you didn’t.”

“Could you, uh, fill me in, then?” Lance asked.

“ _This,_ ” the stranger gestured around him, sweepingly, “is Faerie. I’m Keith, son of Kolivan, the Summer King. Your hookup last night is my stepbrother, Lotor, son of Zarkon, the Winter King.”

“What,” Lance said, and his voice cracked a little. The elf-stranger—Keith, apparently, which sounded like an extremely human name, but okay—whirled back to Lotor.

“What were you _thinking?”_ Keith demanded. Lotor spread his hands. 

“You have a human, and seem extremely content with him, so why can’t I?” Lotor asked. Keith made a noise that sounded like the unholy combination of a groan and a suppressed scream of frustration, and reached up to push his hands through his hair.

“It doesn’t work like that! Nothing works like that!” Keith snapped.

“And why shouldn't it? I’m as much a prince as you,” Lotor said.

“Because—because it just doesn’t!” Keith said, though something in his tone indicated he didn’t really know _why_ it was wrong. The last stranger, the one that struck Lance as familiar, came over to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

“Hi,” he said, gently guiding Lance back into the room and away from the two arguing…brothers. Fairy princes. Apparently. (In the back of his mind, Lance couldn’t help but be a little bit pleased with himself that he’d _fucked a fairy prince, score._ ) He sat them down on the bed, and gently put a hand on Lance’s shoulder. “I’m Shiro. Are you okay?”

“Is he serious?” Lance asked, weakly, which he thought answered the question pretty well.

“Completely serious, yeah,” Shiro said. “This really is the world of the Fair Folk, and you aren’t dreaming.”

“Are you human?” Lance asked. Shiro nodded.

“I am,” he said. “I’ve been here for a few months.” He exhaled, briefly. “Keith and I…we were friends when we were kids. I promised him I’d marry him when we grew up, and…I don’t know if he even knew he was a faerie then? Or what it meant? But a promise to or from a faerie is magically binding. So….he came back for me, and here I am.” Shiro shrugged, giving a slightly helpless “what-can-you-do” sort of smile. 

“What…exactly happened to me?” Lance asked, feeling panic rising in his chest. “Did I…did I get kidnapped by a magical hottie?”

“That’s…pretty much it,” Shiro winced. “Lotor brought you through the barrier between worlds. But don’t worry! Once Keith gets it through his head that what he did was stupid, we’ll get you home.”

“Okay,” Lance said, and he took a deep breath. This was going to be fine. Probably. A little weirder than he’d expected his night to be, but fine! “I just…I really want to get home. My mama will be worrying about me, she’s probably left a million messages on my phone.” His shoulders dropped, and he frowned. “And my friends…Hunk’s gonna be so worried, he’s been my best friend since we were kids and he’s got really bad anxiety, and—” 

“I don’t understand why you’re acting as if I’ve done something _wrong,_ ” Lotor said, loud enough that Lance couldn’t ignore it, dragging his attention back to the door. “Faerie is lovely, and I can make him very happy! And in any case, I fail to see how this is any different than you sweeping Shiro off his feet and bringing _him_ here!”

“....Shiro definitely thinks it’s different, which leads _me_ to think it’s different,” Keith said, and Shiro groaned softly. There was a long pause, which Lance could only guess was because Keith was trying to figure out what the exact problem was. “...I think the difference is that I told Shiro ahead of time and gave him a chance to think about it and also told him what he was getting into?” 

“But that sounds like _so much effort,”_ Lotor complained. Shiro made an unhappy grumbling noise and stood back up, pulling the door open again.

"Hi, uh? Just to clarify?” He cut in, which got Keith and Lotor to turn and look at him. “I'm unhappy because Lance is really upset about this, and? I mean, I know that he could have a nice life and be very happy here, and I know—or at least, I trust—that you didn't mean to hurt him, Lotor, but.” He inhaled. “Lance also had a life in the human world, one that was very important to him, with people he loved, and? He's really not happy about the idea of maybe never seeing them again?” Lance nodded, moving to stand next to Shiro, and almost unconsciously leaning on him. He was definitely good for support, which Lance appreciated.

“Yes, that,” Keith said, gesturing broadly at Shiro. “That is why this is a problem.” 

“Ah,” Lotor said, and he frowned. There was a moment of silence, and to Lance’s surprise, his elfin ears actually dropped, like a sad cat. “That....makes quite a lot of sense, I suppose. Unfortunately, there's little that can be done immediately, since for all the power Keith and I have to walk between realms, taking mortals across…is a more complex matter and can only be done at certain times, or certain places.” Lance gaped, making a furious-shocked noise.

“Oh, sure, it was so easy to just take me here after five seconds of knowing me, but taking me _out_ will be hard? What the fuck! How would you have liked it if the situation were reversed? If I'd stolen you from your life here and trapped you, completely powerless, in the mortal world?! How could you not even stop to think that I might have my own feelings? I'm not a _pet_!” He inhaled deeply, and he wasn’t sure if he was shaking from rage, the effort of not crying, or both. “How does time even work between the two places? For all I know, by the time you can get me out again, my whole family might be dead! I've heard stories like that, you know!” Lotor winced, guiltily, and everything about his manner suggested to Lance that he was actually having to deal with emotional consequences for his bullshit for the first time in a long time, if ever.

Good.

“Being trapped that way…would be…extremely unpleasant, yes.” He reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Time between our realm and yours is malleable, but we, the Fair Folk, have a better handle on it than most. I was able to bring you across because it was the autumnal equinox. I'll be able to return you home on the Winter Solstice,” he looked up, and met Lance’s eyes, very seriously, “and as Prince of the Winter Court, I promise, that will not be a date that simply passes me by.”

Lance gaped, all his fury and bluster replaced by surprise. It was like Shiro had said, wasn’t it? A promise from a faerie was a big deal, and here Lotor was, promising to get him home as soon as he could. Not as soon as Lance _wanted,_ sure, but at least it was a concrete date for going home. He moved away from Shiro, and reached out, placing a hand on Lotor’s shoulder, which made Lotor start with what looked like very genuine surprise.

“Good. Thank you. Now, if you apologize properly, I promise I won't legitimately hold this against you forever. I know I just finished yelling at you, but as long as I'll be here for half a year or whatever, I'd rather be on good terms. And you're putting in the effort to start, so.” Lance gave him a smile. Lotor briefly looked a bit pouty, but shook his head.

“I apologize for stealing you away. It was thoughtless, and I was more concerned with my own selfish desires than with what you may or may not want.” Then, he wrinkled his nose in a way Lance couldn’t help but find incredibly endearing. “But…it won’t be half a year. Just a season. Three of your months, at most.”

“Oh,” Lance said, and then he beamed. “You’re forgiven, Prince Lotor. And, uh, I’m glad you’ll be keeping track of time, I’m…bad at it. Which you can probably tell.”

“Oh, I’m hardly perfect myself,” Lotor grinned, sheepishly, and Lance felt his heart do a Thing that was vaguely reminiscent of a flip, “but there’s a grand ball on the Winter Solstice. My brother and I are going to be quite obligated to put in an appearance. Forgetting to attend would be…unforgivable.”

“That doesn’t sound good,” Lance said, and he felt a brief jolt of guilt. “Are you gonna be able to get me home without getting in trouble? I don’t want something to happen to you.” Lotor shook his head, and gently tapped Lance’s nose with a finger, which made Lance blush bright red and make a soft choking noise.

“Let _me_ worry about _that_ ,” he said. “I won’t have to stay the whole night. I can borrow an hour or two to fulfill a promise and see you home.” 

“Oh, uh. Okay,” Lance said, articulately.

“Good, wonderful,” Keith cut in, “now that that’s all sorted, let’s find Lance somewhere to sleep.”

“The room beside mine is still open,” Lotor said, and Keith nodded. 

“Perfect,” he said, and he steered Lance towards the door next to Lotor’s room. “We can get you settled.”

“I’ll go let Father and Father know what’s going on,” Lotor said, breezily. “Thank you for your assistance, Keith. And yours, Shiro.”

“Any time,” Keith said, and Shiro nodded. Lance let them guide him into the room where he’d apparently be spending the next three months of his life, which was just as richly decorated as Lotor’s and had about the same number of personal touches. Lance supposed it was strange to imagine a fae prince hanging up posters of his favorite bands, but it belatedly struck him as odd that Lotor’s room was so…empty and cold.

So lonely.

“I’d offer you run of the place,” Keith said, “but you’ll actually want to make sure you stick with either me or Lotor as much as possible.” He gave Lance a sheepish smile. “The whole realm of Faerie likes to screw with mortals.”

“He’s not kidding,” Shiro sighed. “For as long as I’ve been here…I’ve thought a couple times I was okay to wander off on my own? I was wrong. Every time. Unequivocally.”

“Okay,” Lance said, and then he blinked, and something in his head clicked. “Wait! You’re Takashi Shirogane! I’ve seen missing posters around the university, you just…disappeared last year. You’re basically an urban legend!”

“Has it really been that long,” Shiro laughed, a little. “Well. Like I told you, Keith came to collect on the promise we made as kids, and…” Shiro sighed. “My parents died when I was little. I was raised by my grandparents, but…my grandparents are gone, too, now, and the rest of my family was all the way across the country. I didn’t have much in the way of friends. It was a pretty easy decision.”

“Do you miss them? Your family?” Lance asked.

“Sometimes,” Shiro acknowledged, and Keith moved to put a hand on his shoulder, “but Keith’s helped me get across a few times, which—Baby, I don’t remember you mentioning needing anything special?”

“Your aunts live really close to a fairy ring,” Keith said, “so that makes for a really good focus. And when I came to get you, all I needed was the magic of the promise between us.”

“Aw, that’s really sweet,” Lance said. “So…there’s no special magical portals near the university?”

“Not any year-round ones, no,” Keith shook his head. “There’s a pool that’s a portal _into_ Faerie during the summer solstice, but I doubt you want to stay that long when there’s plenty of way easier crossings in between.”

“Yeah, no offense, I want to get home as soon as possible,” Lance said.

“None taken,” Keith said, and he sighed. “I’m sorry. About my brother. He’s not always the most considerate, but he’s…a good person. Especially by fae standards. He doesn’t mean to be malicious or anything, he’s just…”

“Thoughtless and self-centered?” Lance asked.

“Yeah, that.” Keith nodded. “Anyway, we’ll leave you alone for a bit so you can…get comfortable, I guess. Call my name or Lotor’s if you need anything, it’ll summon us.” Lance nodded, and Keith guided Shiro out of the room. Lance watched them go, and flopped back onto the bed, trying to get his racing thoughts under control.

There was nothing else he could do. He was stuck here until the winter solstice.

He’d have to find a way to make the best of it.

**Author's Note:**

> Come talk to me on twitter at [noirsongbird!](http://twitter.com/noirsongbird)


End file.
